Episode Details

In today's episode, we tackle a controversial subject - who invented Mardi Gras? Mobile or New Orleans?

My guest is Ted Flotte, with the Historic Mobile Preservation Society and Joe Cain Marching Society. Ted and I explore the history of Carnival and Mardi Gras in both Mobile and New Orleans.

On today's show, you'll learn...

• About the many things Mobile and New Orleans share in common, including their founders
• The history of Carnival and Mardi Gras in both places, and
• How to look for the tell tale signs someone walking down the street may be a member of one of Carnival's most secret organizations!

All this and more on today's episode of the Beyond Bourbon Street podcast!

• Ann Pond: Cowbellion; Masons and Mardi Gras; and Cain. Ann Pond is originally from New Orleans, got her BA/MA from U.N.O. and PhD from U.S.M. Former Assistant Diector of the Gallier House. These three books are well-researched and sourced to give an accurate account of the beginning of Mardi Gras in Mobile and New Orleans. Available on Amazon or Lulu.
• Samuel Kinser: Carnival, American Style: Mardi Gras at New Orleans and Mobile. (1990) A Professor of History at Northern Illinois University gives his outsider, academic take. Available on Amazon.
• Rosary O'Neill: New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit & Secrets of Mardi Gras. An insiders view of New Orleans krewes. Available on Amazon.
• Jennifer Atkins, New Orleans Carnival Balls: The Secret Side of Mardi Gras, 1870-1920. Ditto. Available on Amazon.

Films

• Order of Myths, Margaret Brown. A behind-the-scenes look at many aspects of Mobile Mardi Gras. Watch on Amazon<